The Engine

A curious happenstance helped get the ball rolling. Back in the mid-nineties, a Brazilian company was building a supercar called the Emme. It was built around the Lotus turbocharged 4-cylinder engine available at the time, what is commonly known as SE-spec. Eventually, the compay failed (after only building about a dozen cars) and the remaining parts inventory was sold off for liquidation. For some strange reason, the liquidator chose to announce the availability of the engines to the world - still in their original packing crates as shipped from Lotus - on the LOON website. Our tiny little organization in the middle of Minnesota was the first to find out about them. The price for the engines shipped to your door was less than the cost of a set of replacement pistons and liners, so a whole new engine could be had for less than the parts cost of a rebuild.

After convincing my wife that this was a Really Good Deal (a theme that will present itself over and over again in this tale), I contacted the seller and ordered one up after asking for pictures of an engine as it was uncrated. I was astonished by the condition of the engine when I unpacked it. It was perfect. It included all of the accessories, belts, wiring harness, ECU and even sensors. The bolts and other cad-plated parts were still shiny and bright. There were still signed assembly and dyno test tags attached to the intake manifold. The exhaust manifold was made for a front engine rather than mid-engine installation, and I would have to source a chargecooler. The only problem area found was the water pump. Some coolant was left in a pocket when the engine was drained and rusted the impeller. One of the other LOON members ordered an engine after seeing mine, and after a water pump rebuild and gasket replacement, the engine fired right up. I now had an engine that could run up to 350 or so horespower - a significant upgrade from the 212 provided by the carbureted engine in my '83 Esprit.

And the rest of the engines? Once word got out, they were snapped up pretty fast. Some by individuals, others by some of the parts houses. They're all gone now.